Coach Dan’s Sunday Spotlight 3.27.2016

I’ve been contemplating what to write about today. As I was going through all the awesome pictures taken by Steve Arnoldus I realized I could write up a page on each and every one of you and talk about the change I have seen in you throughout this 2016 CrossFit Open. So instead of the micro view I decided to take more of a macro view of things.

At the beginning of the Open season I got on everyone’s case about joining The Point Open team. Now that it is over I am so happy that I did. This open season has been the best yet. It has been an amazing thing to see as a coach. We had 99 of our athletes join our team. 99 of you who took a chance and pushed yourselves further than you could have without the open. Some of you chose not to join the open this year which is fine. I still loved seeing you complete the open WODs with us on Friday and I saw that extra fire in your eyes as well. I loved seeing you push yourself and believe this open season has made you better athletes.

What changes did I really see? It wasn’t as much about the performances that I witnessed but more so about the mindset. Your mindset changed. You told yourself that 80% effort wasn’t good enough anymore. You discovered that you can push yourself so much further. When that clock counted down you pushed yourself into the “pain cave” and you weren’t afraid to stay in that pain cave until the task was accomplished. This carried over into your everyday workouts as well. You pushed yourselves more than I have seen you push. You pushed for that extra rep or that second faster. You became a better athlete because you were challenged and you rose up to meet that challenge.

What else did I learn? I learned that we truly are a family and a team. It isn’t fake. We truly care about what our friends accomplish. You all cheered your peers on like they were your brothers and sisters. The spirit of camaraderie was all around us. Every week without fail I lost my voice from yelling and I know I am not alone. When we athletes were in that pain cave we were given that extra push from our box family. It is a beautiful thing.

What else? I learned that we have some freaking beasts at our gym. Holy cow. Some of the things that you all accomplished were astounding. As a coach I do everything I can to try and prepare you for whatever the open would bring and it was so encouraging to see that you all are getting so much stronger. We are stronger now than we have ever been. We are stronger physically. We are stronger as a team. We are more skilled than we have ever been. We are better CrossFitters than we have ever been. I would take our average scores at our gym and put them up against any other gym in the world. I wish there were a way to calculate that because I know that we are strong across the board. We all have strengths that we bring to our team.

Where do we go from here? The open season is over (except for a few crazies who are going to do round 2 tomorrow) and it is not time to get back to work. My hope is that you all take what you learned from the open and use it to make you a better CrossFitter. Every single one of us can look at our ranking in each of the different WODs and come to the conclusion of what weaknesses we possess. I know exactly where I need to improve.

My hope is that you have come to realize that signing up for competitions isn’t scary but a challenge. The more we challenge ourselves the better we get. Signing up for local CrossFit competitions, 5k runs, half marathons, marathons, triathlons, basketball tournaments, soccer tournaments, hikes, or any other worthy activity will make you change your focus and push yourself further than you could without signing up. I love seeing on social media posts from all of you celebrating your physical accomplishments. I love seeing you using the fitness you worked for outside the gym.

Use this momentum you have created. Let this open season motivate you through the next year and always keep in mind that the CrossFit Open 2017 will be here before you know it. Don’t wait to work on those weaknesses.

I really hope you all are having an amazing Easter Sunday. Thank you for being part of my family and I am so excited for the future of The Point and our athletes. Skies the limit. Love you guys and gals.